The Romantic Build-Up by Justine Dell + a Giveaway!

Today I have a special treat for you--a guest blogger and a giveaway! Please welcome Justin Dell, author of All-American Girl.

I hope you'll give her a warm welcome and enter the contest below. Take it away, Justine...

Romance: What Makes those hot scenes so…HOT

by Justine Dell

I’ll be the first to tell you, it’s not the sex. I read all kinds of romance. Paranormal, contemporary, sweet, erotic, you name it, I engulf it. And one of the reasons I engulf romance is because of the build. And the build is what gets us to those oh-so-smexy scenes that makes us want to fan ourselves when we are done.  And it’s those scenes that I’m talking about. Sure, it’s nice two people who have been fawning over each other finally get it on, but it’s not the getting-it-on part that makes it so special. 

Nobody would read books where people just had sex for the purpose of having sex. There’s a name for that, and it’s a whole different type of subject matter. No, we are focusing on the romance, and the romance is what makes the love scenes so beautiful and heart-warming (and hot) for us gals. 

The magical moment is in a thought, a touch, a laugh, a feeling. A well-written and swoon-worthy love scene will not focus solely on the act itself, it will focus on the emotions and actions of the characters. What they are seeing in the other person, what they are feeling (inside and outside), introspection into what this moment means, and everything that has come before this moment. A good love scene is the build. The act is a bonus. 

What do you think? What is your favorite thing about romance love scenes? 

~JD 

BLURB: 

At the age of thirty, with two failed marriages and a tanking writing career, Samantha Moore deals with the world with the only tool she had left: anger. And she’s tired of it. When her grandmother's near-death sends her rushing back home to Vermont, she hopes for the chance to overcome the rage ruling her life.

Once she’s home, Lance Cummings becomes a constant source of indigestion. Lance is a single father who learned first-hand the devastating effects of a damaging relationship. He sees through Samantha’s nasty temper—straight to her cry for help. He wants to help her, but he also wants to know why Samantha ran from him—and their future—twelve years before.

Taking care of her Grams, dealing with an alcoholic brother, and getting Lance to remove his annoyingly attractive nose from her business is draining on Samantha. And she’s only got three weeks to finish her stagnated novel or her publisher will drop her. No pressure. To top it off, pretending to hate the man she actually loves makes each day in Vermont harder than the last. Especially when Lance turns up the heat. 

BIO: 

Justine lives in the Midwest, happily catering to her family, which consists of a horse-obsessed teenage daughter, four dogs, and a husband who is too good to be true. She's never moved from her hometown, but hopes to grow old in a much warmer climate.

During the day she works a normal job with college students who try their best to keep her young. They've done a good job thus far. At night, said teenage daughter and her horse require mounds of love and attention. The weekends belong solely to her and her writing. That's when she morphs into a sticky bug, unable to leave the confines of her computer chair.

She started writing four years ago after seeing a movie that set off a chain reaction she couldn't have stopped if she'd wanted. It's not a hobby for her; it's an obsession. One she loves and one she loves to share. Her debut book, Recaptured Dreams and her newest release, All-American Girl, are available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever book are sold. 

BUY: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Omnific 

Book Trailer | Justine's Blog | Twitter | Facebook

 

GIVEAWAY: Justine is giving away one copy of the ebook today. She will also giveaway an AAG postcard and Vermont Maple Candy (together). To be entered, you must leave a comment with your email address included.

She is also hosting a giveaway on her blog that includes a copy of my e-novella STILL INTO YOU. Click here to enter that giveaway as well!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My Top 5 Online Tools for Writers

I'm not usually one to just leave a link to a post on my blog tour, but today I'm a guest over at Books Are Magic talking about my top 5 online tools for writers. And since Wednesday is usually writers' day over here, I figured it'd be a perfect fit.

 

Tools

Photo by zzpza

My Top 5 Online Tools for Writers

 

Hope you'll stop by and say hi. *dives back into editing hell*